We would still love to see an actual revival of the SVO.
Ford enthusiasts were excited to hear rumors about a turbocharged four-cylinder Mustang. We were instead presented with the Mustang 2.0L High Performance Package. This moniker is certainly long and a bit boring. It doesn’t really inspire excitement for a car that could have tapped into some old SVO love. The Muscle Cars and Trucks has released a new report that explains why the letters didn’t appear on the Mustang’s front fenders. SVO, which stands for Special Vehicle Operations, wasn’t just a Mustang trim.
Ford fans are familiar with this story. It actually begins with the 1979 Mustang Cobra. The Fox Body, which was then new, did not have a V8, but a turbocharged four-cylinder of 2.3-liters that produced 132 horsepower. Ford would offer turbo options on the 1983 Mustang GT. However, the original Mustang SVO was introduced in 1984. It was 175 horsepower more than the turbo ‘Stangs. However, it had a tuned suspension and improved brakes.
The product was a Ford Special Vehicle Operations group. This Blue Oval engineering division launched in 1981. It built race cars and other components. The SVO’s last year, 1986, saw the final production of the fuel-injected turbofour. It was producing 200 horsepower and better handling than the 5.0-liter V8.
MC&T was informed by Jim Owens, Ford Performance Marketing Manager Jim Owens, that the new Mustang 2.3L High Performance Package was not developed by an internal team.
According to Owens, the High Performance Package was the base Mustang team that worked weekends at Arizona Proving Grounds. They took the engine from a Ford Focus RS and put it in a Mustang. This is a lengthy explanation of why the Ford Mustang EcoBoost High Performance Package has not been called the SVO.
Although it makes sense in a few ways, it feels like a cheap trick. The current turbo-powered Mustang has a slightly different engine than the standard model, but it still has the same suspension as the GT. It’s not as unique as the original SVO.
However, this does not mean that an SVO is unlikely to happen. The trademark is still owned by Ford, but a report from MC&T indicated that the automaker might have bigger plans to build a Mustang with a four-cylinder engine and lighter weight. We’d love to see that happen, and it should wear an SVO badge.